Man due to be sentenced for murdering wife and two children in their Liverpool home
30 year old Sami Salem was found guilty of murder yesterday
A man will be sentenced for murdering his wife & children at their home in Liverpool
Sami Salem, 30, suffocated his wife and drowned and suffocated his two children has been found guilty of murder.
Liverpool Crown Court heard Salem, killed his wife Arena, also 30, his daughter Shadia, 7, and his son Rami, 4, at the family home on Falkner Street in May last year
Police claimed Slam showed no remorse, yesterday a jury rejected claims of diminished responsibility.
The killings came to light when a heating engineer was called to the house because neighbours said they could smell petrol and gas.
The engineer couldn’t get an answer at the address so relatives that lived nearby were called and they got into the flat. There was a strong smell of petrol and gas.
In Sami’s bedroom they found Sami’s wife Arena Saeed lying on the right hand side of the bed, Shadia next to her and Rami next to Shadia. They were said to look like they were asleep. Sadly, they were already dead.
A family member saw Sami and tried to get him out of the flat because of the overwhelming smell of petrol and gas but he collapsed on the floor.
Sami and Arena had an arranged marriage in Yemen around 7 or 8 years before the tragedy. Sami initially travelled to Yemen from the UK as Arena didn’t have a visa.
She eventually got a visa in 2015 and moved here with the two children, hoping to give them a better start in life.
The court heard that Arena had spoken to some people about feeling isolated and unhappy because she couldn’t speak English and because Sami tried to control what she did.
The jury at Liverpool Crown Court today returned a verdict of murder on all three counts against Salem. He will be sentenced this morning.
David Jones, Senior Crown Prosecutor with MerseyCheshire Crown Prosecution Service, said “This is a terribly sad case. The defendant murdered his wife and two small children and yet what drove the defendant to commit the killings remains unclear.
“Sami had a history of mental illness but this did not explain smothering and drowning his wife and children. The scene in the flat on that day must have been truly awful.